No./8 “Bong Joon-ho taught me how you should be a leader”
[THE Q&A] STEVEN YEUN on playing a hothead in dark comedy Beef — and his growing Hollywood heat
FROM JORDAN PEELE to Bong Joon-ho, everybody wants a piece of Steven Yeun. The actor has hopscotched from Walking Dead alumnus to Oscar-nominated star in just a handful of years, working with both big-league auteurs and burgeoning new talent. 2023 continues his ascent; in the wake of the announcement of his MCU debut with Thunderbolts, Yeun is co-starring in Beef, an off-kilter comedy show from rising TV writer Lee Sung Jin about a petty feud with a stranger (Ali Wong) that’s blown up to catastrophic extremes. He tells Empire what he looks for when he chooses his roles.
You have to tap into a lot of rage to play the grudgewielding, failing contractor Danny in Beef. What was that like?
It was painful at times. I resonate with Danny in that parts of him represent a very young version of me. One that felt unable to exist in a freer way, one that felt pushed down and misunderstood. To revisit that in an older age where you’ve processed a bit was at times shameful, but overall so liberating. It wasn’t the expression of the rage that was liberating — it was more the acceptance of rage.
Even with all that, do you have fun playing the character?
What was really fun was the Korean church stuff [Danny joins his ex-girlfriend’s church to stay near her]. [That] was hilariously, beautifully, shamefully cringey. [Lee Sung Jin] and I grew up in the Korean church, and we talked a lot about not rendering that place as a projection, but rather showing that humanity exists everywhere. We just wanted to show the unabashed realness of that place. I used to lead a praise band at church myself.
Have you ever held an intense grudge yourself ?
My personal issue was I just wanted to be liked so bad! Especially when I was younger, I would squash the grudge and just eat it. If anything, I’ve grown to understand that’s unhealthy. So I’ve actually never really held onto grudges much.
You’ve reunited with Bong Joon-ho for his new sci-fi Mickey 17. How has it been working with him again after Okja?
I don’t know if he’s aiming to be my teacher, but I really learn so much from him. There’s this camaraderie that he allows me to participate in with him that I really appreciate. At the end of filming [Mickey 17],
I remember turning to him as we shot my last scene, and I was like, “I learned a lot… and thank you.”
What did you learn from him?
How you should be a director and leader. For someone whose process looks very specific, you would think it’d be a rigid thing that you’re entering into, but it’s actually the most fluid. If anything, his process is a direct result of how much he cares for the crew and cast, because he’s pointing them all in a direction that he’s feeling, as opposed to leaning on them to supply their creative ability. It was a killer set to be on.
You’re starring alongside Kristen Stewart in the upcoming Love Me, a love story about a satellite and a buoy. What draws you to unconventional projects?
We all have limited time on this planet, so it’s about [deciding] who’s trying to say something real. If I can feel that, then I’m down. With that film in particular, Kristen was a big draw because she just seems like an incredibly open person, and getting to work with her was nothing short of that.
And you’ve recently joined the cast of Marvel’s Thunderbolts. Why was this the MCU film for you?
I don’t know if it was explicitly on my bucket list. It was more the story, getting to work with Jake Schreier again, who directed Beef, and what his intentions were. The intentions of the particular character that they wanted me to play were very clear, and that’s what drew me to the film.
BEEF IS ON NETFLIX FROM 6 APRIL